ICC approves Ameren rate hike

Wednesday

The Illinois Commerce Commission approved a rate hike for most customers of the Ameren Illinois utilities by a 5-0 vote Wednesday.

The Illinois Commerce Commission approved a rate hike for most customers of the Ameren Illinois utilities by a 5-0 vote Wednesday.

ICC officials said the delivery rate increase will generate about $162 million in new annual revenue for the Ameren Illinois companies. The impact on customers will vary, depending on which utility serves them and how much electricity and natural gas they use.

The Ameren Illinois utilities - Ameren IP, Ameren CIPS and Ameren CILCO - asked the ICC late last year to hike delivery rates for electricity and natural gas. The origjnal request would have generated an extra $247 million in revenue a year, but Ameren later lowered the request to $207 million.

Ameren says it needs the rate increase to pay for infrastructure improvements and insure safe and steady energy delivery.

Before the meeting, more than 50 people gathered at Sixth and Capitol in Springfield for a brief rally organized by AARP and the Citizens Utility Board to oppose the rate hike. Some took a bus up from Marion, in southern Illinois.

State Capitol Bureau

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